Chapter 65: The Vengeance of a Mother's Death

  County Magistrate Deng sat down on the couch beside him and said, "The case of Zhao's murder, Liu Xiangzheng's dismemberment of the corpse and private communication has been concluded and reported to the prefecture. This case is extremely heinous, involving dismemberment of a human body, so it is estimated that it will not take long before it is handed over for execution."

  Xiao Jiading nodded, he knew that dismembering a corpse was one of the "unfilial" crimes in the Tang Code's ten abominations, and Liu Xiangzheng killing his sister-in-law was considered a minor kin within the five degrees of mourning. According to the Tang Code, plotting to kill a relative within the five degrees of mourning was also one of the ten abominations. Those guilty of these crimes not only could not be pardoned from death in a general amnesty but also did not need to wait until after autumn to be executed; as soon as their death sentence was approved, they could be immediately put to death. This was exactly what Deng County Magistrate had been hoping for - the sooner he could get rid of these two people, the better he could protect his own official hat. He believed that Zhong Fachao, the judicial officer of Zhezhou Prefecture, thought the same way.

  Xiao Jiading said: "I know, when Lord Kang arrives, I will report it to him."

  After chatting for a while, Deng County Magistrate left afterwards.

  Xiao Jiading took a rest for a while, and when Deng Xianwei told him that he had found a contractor who would provide interest-free loans to build the house, a weight was lifted off his mind. He picked up the case files and began working again.

  He picked up the top file and took a look. He was used to reading the verdict first, then the file, because the draft verdict written by the clerk of the criminal house had the case situation on it, so he could understand the case situation first, then read the file, and have a clear direction.

  As Xiao Jiading has specifically requested, the judgment should not overly emphasize the rhyming format in the future. Instead, it should clearly state the facts of the case and provide explicit legal grounds. Therefore, the current judgment's factual description is relatively detailed.

  Xiao Jiading sat there in a daze after finishing reading.

  This case is simple. The defendant's name is Su Yunxia, 16 years old. Her mother, Liu Shi, was her father's concubine, also known as a stepmother. Because of her beauty, she was envied by her father's first wife, Wu Shi, who was also her stepmother. One day, Wu Shi actually beat Liu Shi to death. Su Yunxia witnessed her biological mother's tragic death and was overcome with grief. She ran to the government office to report her stepmother Wu Shi. As a result, Wu Shi was arrested for murder, and Su Yunxia was also arrested for reporting her stepmother. For Su Yunxia, the clerk of the criminal house drafted a verdict of hanging! Xu Shifa and Deng County Wei both signed in agreement. After reporting to County Magistrate Kang, he would hold court and make a judgment on the spot.

  According to the Tang Code, this judgment is not a problem at all. The "Eternal Glory Code" stipulates: "All those who accuse their grandparents and parents will be hanged!" In other words, as long as it's not treason or rebellion, or crimes that could implicate oneself, children are strictly forbidden from accusing their own grandparents and parents, otherwise they would be sentenced to death by hanging! This is the specific embodiment of the Confucian principle of "kinship above all" in law. In other words, in ancient China, it was not allowed to have so-called "righteousness that destroys kinship", especially towards one's own parents.

  In ancient China, the patriarchal clan system was very strict. A man's first wife was the legitimate mother of all children, and the children born to his concubines could only consider their father's first wife as their own mother, while they could only address their biological mothers as "aunt". Now, this girl reported her legitimate mother, who is her legal mother, which goes against the patriarchal clan system and was absolutely not allowed by ancient law, and would be severely punished.

  Xiao Jia Ding was stunned for a while, sighed, and felt sorry for the girl. He carefully reviewed the case files again, without any doubts.

  He picked up his pen ready to write a draft of the judgment. However, he raised it but did not put it down for a long time.

  At last, he put down his brush on the pen holder and stood up. He decided to review it personally before doing anything else.

  As the county magistrate, he had the power to review cases of prisoners and conduct necessary investigations.

  He walked into the county yamen's prison. The county yamen's prison was only visited once when he first entered the yamen to interrogate prisoners, and this was his first time.

  The warden of the great prison was called Jiang Feng. Seeing Xiao Jia Ding arrive, he was both startled and delighted, and welcomed him out with a bow, saying: "Xiao Zhi Yi!"

  Xiao Jiading nodded and returned the courtesy, saying: "I have come to review the case of the prisoner."

  "Alright, who is going to be put on trial?"

  "Su Yunxia!"

  "Alright! Hold on for a moment, I'll go and bring the prisoner out."

  "Never mind, I'll just ask a few questions. Let's just interrogate him directly in prison."

  "Alright, follow me."

  Jiang Feng finished speaking and brought Xiao Jiading to the death row prison. The Shaocheng County government's large prison was divided into three parts: an ordinary male prison, an ordinary female prison, and a death row prison. Anyone who might be sentenced to death, regardless of gender, was detained in the death row prison. One person per cell, under close guard.

  The men's and women's prisons were two separate courtyards on the ground, while the death row was almost in an underground room, with only a small iron window near the ceiling that let in light. Inside it was very damp and dark. From time to time, terrifying screams and groans could be heard, as well as crying sounds.

  He followed Jiang Feng to a prison cell and Jiang Feng smiled apologetically: "We're here."

  Xiao Jia Ding last time came, only in the barracks met with the prison guards and prisoners, did not go to the cell to see, let alone come to this heavily guarded dead cell. Now entering, feeling really gloomy and terrifying, making people shiver.

  The light in the prison was very dim, and Xiao Jia Ding's eyes had not adapted yet, so he couldn't see the situation inside the prison clearly. He only saw that the ground was covered with straw, and there was a long cage beside it. However, he didn't see anyone. He turned his head to look at Jiang Dian Yu in surprise: "Where is the person?"

  "In the wooden cage beside him."

  The cangue bed is a kind of torture device used for serious criminals, similar to a lying cage. It fixes the person on the lower bed board, with the head, neck, hands and feet all locked in place by wooden stocks. The abdomen is also pressed down by a large piece of wood, and the body and legs are bound by thick iron chains. Then, a cage-like cover with long spikes inside is placed on top, only a few inches away from the prisoner's body. This torture device is extremely terrifying, as the prisoner cannot move at all, and has to eat, drink, urinate and defecate in place. Even scratching an itch is impossible. Insects crawling on the face are also unavoidable, not to mention turning over or moving around. It can be said that this is one of the most terrifying torture devices.

  Xiao Jiading took a closer look and indeed, in the small wooden cage-like bed made of thick branches, lay a thin woman. Her face couldn't be seen because her head was facing inward.

  Xiao Jia Ding secretly furrowed his brow, but quickly recovered and turned to look at Jiang Dian Yu, saying: "What's the fuss about the upper compartment bed?"

  He didn't want to seem overbearing, so he didn't use a questioning tone, but rather a curious one. He also didn't ask the girl how she could use such a device, but instead directly asked about the intricacies of using the cangue bed. Jiang Dian thought he wanted to understand some inside information about the prison, and since he had just entered the yamen not long ago, he hastily smiled and said: "All death row prisoners must wear the cangue bed. This is the rule. However, if the prisoner's family is willing to spend money, they can change it to a wooden collar or even no restraints at all, depending on how much money they pay. Heh heh."

  He spoke very carefully, still stealing a glance at Xiao Jia Ding.

  Xiao Jiading nodded and sighed, saying: "It's not easy for brothers to make a living in this big prison, it's understandable to want some hard-earned money."

  As soon as he heard this, Jiang Dianyu immediately let out a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully: "It's still Xiao Zhiyi who is considerate of us prison guards, it's not easy."

  Xiao Jiading also knew that there were many ways to make money in prison, one of which was to use torture instruments to extort money. Those who paid could use lighter instruments or even no instruments at all. But those who didn't have the money or weren't willing to pay would be subjected to heavier instruments. It seemed that Su Yunxia's family hadn't spent any money to try and get her better treatment, so despite being a weak woman, she was still subjected to the cruel instrument of the cangue.

  Xiao Jiading said: "Open the prison gate, I'll go in and ask."

  Jiang Dian opened the prison door in a hurry. Xiao Jiading walked in and came to Su Yunxia's side, who was lying down. He took a look and was stunned for a moment. This woman was actually an extremely beautiful beauty! Her eyebrows were curved like willows, her eyes were big, her skin was white as jade, and her cherry lips were small and delicate. However, due to the suffering she had endured in prison, her appearance was haggard and pale, which made her large eyes even more striking. At this moment, she simply stared blankly upwards, seemingly without any reaction even though Xiao Jiading had entered.

  "Su Yunxia!" shouted Jiang Dian loudly from the side.

  This loud shout finally made the woman react slightly. She slowly turned her head around, looked at them for a moment, and then closed her eyes.

  Jiang Dianyudao said: "The Xiao family's Xiao Lao Ye from the yamen has come to interrogate you, you must answer properly!"

  Su Yunxia still had no reaction.

  Jiang Dianyu was about to scold, but Xiao Jiateng waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to say anything. Jiang Dianyu thought Xiao Jiateng was telling him to leave, so he quickly nodded and bowed out of the cell, going outside.

  Xiao Jia Ding originally wanted to stop him, but then gave up. He didn't ask about the Su Yunxia case because there was no problem with it; she had run to the government office to accuse her stepmother and was immediately arrested by the government's constables. The matter was clear and didn't require further questioning. As for why he came to the prison to see her, even he himself didn't know what his true intentions were. Perhaps it was out of sympathy for her; anyone who had witnessed their own mother being beaten to death wouldn't be able to remain calm. However, she had gone to the government office to accuse someone and ended up getting herself involved. Now she would have to face a death sentence, which was indeed pitiful.

  Xiao Jiading looked at her and finally spoke up, saying: "Your mother has passed away, I'm also saddened by it. Please take care of yourself during this difficult time."

  Su Yunxia's eyes gently closed, and after a while, a crystal tear slowly rolled down.

  Xiao Jia Ding continued: "You risked your own life to avenge your mother, I really admire you."

  Xiao Jiading finally figured out the real reason why he had to bring up this case that didn't need to be brought up for review. It was because children couldn't accuse their parents, or else they would be put to death. This rule was well-known in ancient times, just like "an eye for an eye" and "repaying debts". However, Su Yunxia knew this point clearly, but still went to the government office to file a complaint, which could be said to be using her own life to avenge her mother. Isn't this worthy of admiration?